Genetics in Diagnosing and Managing Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a complex multifactorial genetic disorder characterized by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. The highly variable clinical course of IBD has made the search for genetic factors extremely challenging. However, the advent of the genomic era and the utilization of rapidly evolving genomic technologies and analytic strategies have greatly enabled the search for genetic factors that influence IBD pathogenesis. As the search continues to explain the heritability of IBD, the latest in whole-genome sequencing and so-called "gene-chip" technology will help pave the way to practicing genomic medicine in the treatment of IBD patients.